Calls for hospital parking review

An urgent review of car parking charges at Dudley's Russells Hall Hospital is being called for by Dudley councillors.

They say the charges place a crippling "financial burden" on visitors. Some members are demanding charges are scrapped altogether as, they say, visitors are forking out hundreds of pounds to visit loved ones. Dudley Council will be discussing calls for a review of charges at its meeting on April 27.

Councillor Bryan Cotterill said one visitor had to pay a total of around £400 to visit their dying parent and called the charges "wrong and immoral".

Councillor Cotterill will bring a notice of motion before the next full council meeting on April 27 to ask for fees for some visitors to be cut or scapped.

Interserve, the PFI partner of Russells Hall Hospital, is contracted by Summit Healthcare to manage and maintain the hospital car park. Spokeswomen Natalie Wignall said: "We are confident that our charges are comparatively low compared with other hospitals throughout the West Midlands."